India opens govt procurement sector for UK firms under FTA

Starmer hits back at

oppn over tax clause

  • British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday came out fighting against Opposition criticism over a double taxation clause in the FTA, designed to prevent temporary workers paying in social security contributions in both countries

  • The UK Opposition Conservative Party dubbed the clause as “two-tier taxes” that would unfairly benefit Indian workers while costing the UK Treasury millions of pounds

India has opened its Central Government procurement for British companies under the free trade agreement (FTA) announced on Tuesday, an official said Wednesday. The official said British firms would be allowed to participate in the procurement of goods and services of the non-sensitive Central-level entities only.

However, access to state and local government-level entities will be excluded.

“Eligible UK suppliers would be allowed to bid for domestic tenders as deemed Class II local suppliers only,” the official said, adding that carve out was also provided for the Make in India policy as well as medium and small enterprises. Earlier, India opened the government procurement segment in the comprehensive trade pact with the UAE. Under that pact, UAE firms are allowed to participate in procurement tenders worth over Rs 200 crore.

To boost competitiveness against B’desh: Exporters

The removal of import duties on a range of Indian goods in labour-intensive sectors such as apparel, clothing and leather under the FTA with the UK would boost the competitiveness of domestic players in the British market against countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam, exporters said.

They added that the FTA had eliminated or significantly reduced tariffs on a wide range of Indian goods.

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